JP2592551B2 - airship - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a frame for a group of structures required for a gas bag and an airship which generates lift, and which comprises a row of horizontal frames and vertical beams fitted between these horizontal frames. The horizontal frame divided in the direction intersecting with the direction is composed of three horizontal beams each arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle, and each point of the triangle is formed as a node for connecting the vertical beam to the horizontal beam. About airships.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An airship of this type is also called a rigid airship, as opposed to a so-called flexible airship which has only one gas bag and is not framed. Advances in aircraft structure
In the last decade, personnel and supplies have been transported mainly by air. However, there is another problem where the high transport speed of the airplane is not particularly a problem, in which case an airship is advantageously used. For example, it may be advantageous for the aircraft to be used to cruise around the destination for a long time at a very slow speed, or to be moored in a floating state for a long time. This requirement is fully met by the characteristics of the airship. Therefore, research on the use of airships has been conducted repeatedly. In that case, in practice, the above-mentioned flexible airships, also called blimps (small airships), which are somewhat smaller and less expensive than general rigid airships, are often employed.
A flexible airship can be manufactured lightly and inexpensively because the frame is omitted, and a small airship can carry a sufficient load. However, the airship has the disadvantage that its traveling speed is low due to its shape. This has poor track stability during driving and lacks safety against gas leakage. Rubber blimps can no longer control when pressure is lost.

[0003] In the case of rigid airships, the framework generally consists of a number of ring-shaped transverse frames (ribs) which are connected to each other at the nodes by a number of longitudinal beams. The rings are formed as polygons and have, for example, 20 or more cross beams, and for strength reasons each corner of the ring is connected to another corner of the same ring by a tension cable. At the corners of the ring there are nodes for connecting the above mentioned longitudinal beams which are joined to the next ring located before or after it. The polygonal part of the framework thus formed between two consecutive rings contains the gas bag and is closed on the outside by a jacket stretched over the longitudinal beams. The gas bag is held by the net and is in contact with the beam from the inside. In this way, an intermediate chamber is formed between the skin of the gas bag and the jacket, in which the beams are arranged and are useless for lift. Each cross and longitudinal beam of the ring is usually formed as a truss. This results in high costs and considerable costs for the manufacture of the framework. Furthermore, the framework is sensitive to local loads and vibrations due to its structure. The accident thus causes significant damage to the framework, which requires high monitoring and repair costs. Only a large airship with a lifting capacity of tens of thousands of m3 due to the weight of the frame can take on a sufficiently large payload. Such large airships are undesirable for many tasks. This disadvantage can be countered by several advantageous properties of rigid airships. That is, due to its aerodynamically good outer profile, a rigid airship has a higher speed and better course stability than a flexible airship. Furthermore, a rigid airship has a large safety by having a plurality of gas bladders and maintaining the shape of the airship in case of gas loss and being able to control it sufficiently.

[0004] DGLR Technical Committee 2A, March 1976
Six reports, "Flight devices that are lighter than air (Flugsys
"Lectures of the Aircraft and Spacecraft at the University of Stuttgart" under the heading "Comparative Structural Studies in Airship Models" on page 161 et seq. There, the shape of the frame for the airship is studied. The new proposal is the first in the report mentioned above.
It differs from a conventional rigid airship on the basis of chapters in that almost all lateral components of the structure have been omitted. Its lateral components have been replaced by a pre-stretched and compressed envelope. As a result, the weight can be considerably reduced when the load of the structure is the same, as compared with a normal rigid airship. Furthermore, the production is significantly simplified. In the case of the framed structure studied, three beams are provided instead of the transverse rings and are arranged in the form of a triangular point. The airship's mantle is stretched outside around three beams. At the corners of the three beams are connected longitudinal beam structures, which connect partially continuous transverse beam frames to one another. The longitudinal beam located at the lower point of the triangle is easily damaged. There is no mention of the formation of the gas bag and the alternative structure of the airship. It only discloses that weight can be reduced by a simplified triangular structure of the lateral frame of the framework.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to create an airship that maintains the certain advantages of rigid and soft airships and does not have the disadvantages mentioned above. The object is to create an airship that has a large load capacity and strength in a support structure that is as light as possible and that can be manufactured particularly simply and economically. Especially in the case of very small airships, the aim is to avoid high production costs.

[0006]

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the measures according to claim 1. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are specified in the other claims.

[0007]

The frame structure according to the present invention makes it possible to provide a stern wing of a three-part structure at the end of three longitudinal beams at the stern of an airship. Similarly, the drive device can be provided with great flexibility in the lower longitudinal beam structure, and the mooring device can be provided at the joint of the frame.

[0008] The structure of the triangular transverse frame, together with the longitudinal beams, requires only a few simple structural elements, which makes the manufacturing costs very low. Individual components, such as longitudinal beams or cross beams, can be comfortably prefabricated and assembled later. Greater economics are obtained due to the lower total weight. The high strength of the skeleton is obtained by a diagonal stay (tensile link) in a rectangular area defined by beams bounding and surrounding the framing divided in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the airship. The stable, elongated, aerodynamically good shape of the framework allows all structural groups such as drives, sterns, nacelles, etc. to be installed there. The frame truss is unloaded by the inner pressure-applied jacket, which additionally improves the strength (flexural strength, flexural strength, torsional strength). Due to the presence of the air chamber in the lower part of the airship body, the base of the skeleton is placed inside the envelope, thereby protecting it from damage. For example, in the event of a hard landing, the nacelle resiliently enters the space of the air chamber and the structural beams do not injure the nacelle occupant. The gas bag is attached to the outer chords of three longitudinal beams extending parallel to each other in a frame portion obtained by dividing the airship in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction. The beam is preferably formed as a truss, the outer chord of which has a curved profile corresponding to the outer longitudinal curvature of the airship in the individual frame sections. The envelope of the gas bag arranged continuously in the longitudinal direction of the airship forms the envelope of the airship, and no other airship envelope is provided outside the support structure at a distance from the gas bag. Therefore, the entire airship volume can be optimally used for the gas volume that generates lift. The lift can be increased by about 6% compared to a general rigid airship of the same size. The gas bag serves to reinforce the skeleton by the internal pressure generated thereby. The airship retains its shape in the event of gas loss,
The airship can be fully controlled by the stern. Due to the gas bag having an outer contour with a circular cross section in the upper region of the base longitudinal beam, a polygonal cross-section of the airship is avoided, which otherwise would be a polygon. The synergistic action of the framework structure and the shape of the gas bag according to the invention eliminates the disadvantages mentioned at the outset and, for very small airship volumes, provides the advantageous properties of a large rigid airship.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airship in which a skeleton is divided into a plurality of portions A (hereinafter, referred to as skeleton portions A) in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction thereof by a horizontal frame. Since the outer hull of the center frame of the airship has been removed, the frame structure located inside the airship can be understood. The horizontal frame (ribs) of the airship is formed of horizontal beams arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle. In the drawing, such a triangular composite (horizontal frame) is shown as an example of the cross beams S11 and S1.
2, S13. A second lateral frame is shown with the outer frame removed from the lateral frame. This horizontal frame has three bars or beams S21,
It consists of S22 and S23. The triangular horizontal frame has its pointed ends, ie, beams S11, S12 through S21, S2.
The corner formed by 2 points upwards, whereas the triangular bases or beams S13 to S23 are located in the lower part of the framework. The corners of the triangular horizontal frames are each connected by vertical beams. In FIG. 1, this connection is made by longitudinal beams L1, L2, L3. In this way, the skeleton has a prismatic shape with three rectangular surfaces, one of which is located at the base of the skeleton and the other two surfaces form the inclined side walls of the prism. ing.
The base surface in the front frame portion is, for example, a beam S13, L
1, S23, L3. The side surfaces of the prism are formed, for example, by beams S12, L2, S22, and L3. As can be seen, these flat surfaces incorporate two tension links (stays) D each extending diagonally. These diagonal stays are flexible and are formed, for example, as tension cables with adjusting mechanisms. This double diagonal stay significantly increases the strength of the framework and is an advantageous form compared to the triangular transverse frame described in the report mentioned at the outset. Considering the airship for some of its illustrated frame parts A, the longitudinal beams L
1, L2, and L3. The longitudinal beams L1 to L3 which extend through the base of the skeleton, the nodes arranged on their transverse beams are particularly suitable for arranging the drive T. The suspension of the nacelle G will be described later. The stern wing F will also be described later.

FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 schematically show the stern portion of the airship. FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line DD in FIG. It can be seen that the stern wings F1, F2, F3 are advantageously mounted on the three longitudinal beams L1, L2, L3. The stern wing having a three-part structure having the wings F1, F2, and F3 forms an inverted Y-shape. FIG. 2 shows a separate stern drive H at the stern of the airship, in which case a jet turning device is shown. When the rudder does not work effectively due to lack of cruising speed, besides aerodynamically controlled by the stern wings and rudder, the jet turning device turns the jet downwards or in some cases sideways Thereby, advantageous control of the airship in the floating flight is performed. FIG. 3 also shows two horizontal frames Q of a triangle, and the envelope 1 of the airship is shown by a circle.

FIG. 4 shows two transverse frames with boundary transverse beams S12 to S22 at the end of the frame portion A and longitudinal beams L2, L3 therebetween. The diagonal stay D on the prismatic side of the framework is clearly visible. An arrow indicates that a drive T is arranged at a node between the cross beam S12 and the vertical beam L3, and that the drive can swing to various positions.

FIG. 5 shows a horizontal frame composed of beams S11, S12 and S13. Vertical beams L1, L2, and L3 are shown at the joints of the horizontal beams that are joined to each other. The outer boundary of the airship is indicated by a circle and is numbered 1.
This boundary is formed by the skin of the gas bag 1 in the upper region of the airship. Further, the arrangement of the driving device T can be understood from this figure. Note that a triangular horizontal frame is formed from the horizontal beams S11, S12, and S13, and the base of the triangle is formed by the horizontal beam S13. What is important for the arrangement is that the triangular complex is configured as an equilateral triangle with lateral beams S11, S12 of equal length. The length of the base S13 is not critical, but all three cross beams S11, S12,
Advantageously, S13 has the same length and is an equilateral triangle.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a frame portion A of an airship. One can see a first horizontal frame consisting of bars or beams S11, S12, S13 and a second horizontal frame with beams S21, S22, S23 spaced apart therefrom. These two horizontal frames are longitudinal beams L1, L
2, L3. The gas bag 1 has a circular shape in an upper area thereof, that is, an area extending from the vertical beam L1 to the opposite vertical beam L3 via the vertical beam L2. The gas bag 1 itself is in contact with the three vertical beams from the inside. Beside the longitudinal beam, the wall of the gas bag protrudes outward approximately by the thickness of the beam and, in some cases, serves to protrude slightly from the contour of the beam L1, L2 or L3. That is, the longitudinal beam is located somewhat recessed in the groove in the gas bag. The remaining portion of the gas bag 1, that is, the portion of the gas bag 1 extending downward between the longitudinal beams L1 and L3, is loosely in contact with the diagonal stay D on the surface formed by the beams L1, L3, S13 and S23. ing.
In the area formed by the diagonal stay D of this surface and the above-mentioned flat boundary beam, the lower part of the gas bag hangs downward in a bag-like manner. This lower portion forms a partition 2 between the gas bag and the air chamber K arranged on the abdomen of the airship. The outside of the air chamber K is closed by an airtight jacket 3 between the vertical beams L1 and L3. For this purpose, the lateral edges 30 of the envelope 3 are mounted airtight along the longitudinal beams L1 to L3. The fixing is performed in such a way that the recessed groove for the longitudinal beam is covered on the outside by the edge strip 30. The groove of the upper longitudinal beam L2 extending at the top of the airship structure is also covered by the longitudinal strip 4. This cover will be described later in detail. As described above, the gas bag 1 is disposed between the beams S11, S12, and S13 on one side and the beams S21, S22, and S23 on the opposite side. Another gas bag follows the horizontal frames S21, S22, S23. That is, these two gas bags are separated from each other by a triangular horizontal frame, and a disk-shaped intermediate chamber z connected to the air chamber K is formed therein. The intermediate chamber z is also air-tightly closed on its outer edge in the same way as the covering of the apex by the longitudinal covering strip 4. In the intermediate chamber Z the covering strip extends over the outer circumference of the airship jacket.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a schematic cross-sectional view and a schematic vertical cross-sectional view, respectively, of an airship skeleton and its gas bag. FIG. 7 shows three horizontal beams S1 of the horizontal frame.
1, S12 and S13 are shown. Connect the vertical beam L
1, L2 and L3 extend. Cross beams S11, S12, S
In FIG. 13, a diagonal stay D extending in this plane is shown by two dashed lines. The upper part of the gas-tight envelope of the gas bag 1 is indicated by a circle. In that case, vertical beams L1, L
At the location occupied by 2, L3, it is clear that the longitudinal beams project laterally from the gas bag 1. The longitudinal seal in the longitudinal beam L2 is designated by the reference numeral 4 and is shown in detail in FIG. It can be seen that the air chamber K is separated by a loose partition 2. The filling of the air in the air chamber K is indicated by dot-dot symbols. From FIG. 8, it can be seen that the diagonal flat surface and the slack of the partition wall are loose. A bag-shaped turn-up that occurs near the point of contact with the diagonal stay D is indicated by the reference numeral 20. The function of the air chamber K in relation to the gas bag is not the subject of the present invention and is known. The folded portion is deepened, and finally takes the terminal position shown by the broken line in FIG. From FIG. 8, the disc-shaped intermediate chamber Z between the two gas bags can be understood in the range of the horizontal frame indicated by the beam S21. As described above, the lower portion of the gas bag, that is, the partition wall 2 is loosely in contact with the diagonal stay D on the base surface formed by the beams L1 and L2, but the diagonal line extending along the cross beams S11 and S12 on the side surface. The stay D penetrates the skin of the gas bag 1, and more specifically, penetrates near the fixing point of the gas bag 1 to the vertical beam. The details will be described later.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a small circle in FIG. From this figure, two cross beams S11,
The longitudinal beam L2 to which S12 is connected can be understood. Vertical beam L
2 is located in the deep groove of the gas bag 1. The vertical beam L2 has a fixing piece 25 facing the right side and the left side at the vertex over the entire length. The extension strip of the gas bag 1 is connected to these fixing pieces 25 via the mooring device 5. An airtight cover strip 4 is airtightly fixed to the skin of the extension strip or the gas bag itself at its edge 40 by, for example, suturing or sticking. The covering strip covers the entire groove for the longitudinal beam L2 and the mooring device 5, and its other side edge is attached to the gas bag 1 via a planar fastener consisting of, for example, a loop and a hook.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a portion surrounded by a dashed line circle in FIG. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a vertical beam L2 to which the horizontal beam S11 is connected. A diagonal stay D is attached to this node. In the figure, reference numeral 8 denotes a fastening element of the diagonal stay D, and a penetrating portion of the diagonal stay D penetrating the wall of the gas bag 1 is sealed by a bellows 7 as is known. Similar to the longitudinal covering strip 4, there is also provided another covering which covers the intermediate space Z to the outside on the circumference of the airship. This covering is shown in FIG. 10 by a strip 4 '.

FIG. 11 schematically shows a nodal joint, in which a longitudinal beam L and a transverse beam S are connected to one another, where a further diagonal stay acts. Here the beams are shown as simple rods or tubes. Of course, simple rods can be replaced by trusses without difficulty. The nodal points thus formed are shown in FIG.
3 is shown in plan view. FIG.
The course of the skin of the gas bag 1 forming the jacket of the airship is shown. Furthermore, the dashed line shows the lateral covering strip 30 closing the groove formed by the longitudinal beam L1 against the outside. FIG. 13 further shows a diagonal stay D, which penetrates the skin of the gas bag 1 indicated by the dashed line, and the penetrating portion is covered by the bellows 7.

FIG. 14 schematically shows features of assembling the longitudinal beam L. In order to obtain a good hydrodynamic course of the airship's envelope, the longitudinal beams fitted into the individual skeletons do not simply take the form of straight extensions, but use straight beams that extend only at the base. The outer chord 9 corresponds to the local curvature of the airship. The cross-sectional view of the longitudinal beam L shown in FIGS.
This reveals that the outer chord 9 has various spacings with respect to the base of the frame structure.

FIG. 17 schematically shows a side view of the airship. FIG. 18 shows a cross-sectional view of the airship along the line AA, and FIG. 20 shows a cross-sectional view along the line BB. FIG. 17 and FIG.
In FIG. 8, horizontal frames are indicated by reference numerals Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4. A frame portion A is present between these horizontal frames. The frame structure described above extends from the bow of the airship to the stern and is provided with great strength by a special type of stay. The stern is indicated by wing F. Further, the stern is provided with a stern drive device H capable of controlling a thrust vector. An air chamber K, which is hatched below the frame base, extends. The nacelle G is suspended from, for example, horizontal frames Q1 to Q4 by columns or ropes 15 or 16. In this suspension of the nacelle, for example, a damping device 17 as can be understood from FIG.
Is also adopted. The illustrated drive T also shows how this drive is attached to the longitudinal beam. It has already been mentioned above that a holding device or a mooring device is connected to this longitudinal beam.

FIG. 19 shows horizontal frames Q1, Q2, Q3, Q
17 shows a portion of FIG. 17 with a 4 in which the suspended nacelle G has resiliently penetrated into the air chamber K, for example by a hard landing. Nacelle suspension device 15, 1
6 remains undamaged in the air chamber K. FIG. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the nacelle G elastically enters the air chamber. Damage by the nacelle G and the skeleton is thus largely avoided. In order to form the air chamber K, the air chamber is divided with a large degree of freedom. Thus, a single open air chamber K may be provided for the entire airship, or it may be divided so that one or more gas bladders are configured and have their own air chamber. At least one blower V is provided for each partial gas bag,
This blower creates the air pressure required for operation.
In FIG. 17, the front part of the airship up to the horizontal frame Q4 has a common air chamber, and the rear part has another air chamber. In the drawing, a blower V 'is provided for the front air chamber, and a blower V is provided for the rear air chamber. In some cases, instead of a blower, a wind pressure device is sufficient to ensure the required air pressure.

FIG. 22 shows a connecting portion of the propeller turbine driving device T to the longitudinal beam at a node formed by the longitudinal beam L and the lateral beam S. The pylon connected to the node is followed by the holder of the propeller turbine drive T. The drive is swung slightly more, if necessary, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the airship by means of a rocking bearing 19, with the jet of the drive pointing downwards. FIG. 23 is a plan view showing the driving device in the propulsion position, and the dashed line indicates the propeller circle P ′ at the swinging position of the driving device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airship in which a jacket is partially removed.

FIG. 2 is a partial front detailed view of the airship in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line DD of the airship in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a partial front detailed view of the airship in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the airship in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of one skeleton part of an airship.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a frame portion of the airship.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line CC in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of an embodiment of a nodal joint of an airship skeleton.

FIG. 12 is an illustration of an embodiment of a nodal joint of an airship skeleton.

FIG. 13 is an illustration of an embodiment of a nodal joint of an airship skeleton.

FIG. 14 is a diagram of a schematic embodiment of a longitudinal beam.

FIG. 15 is a sectional view taken along line EE in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along line FF in FIG. 14;

FIG. 17 is a partial cross-sectional view of an airship having a nacelle and a driving device.

18 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG.

FIG. 19 is a partial cross-sectional view of the airship of FIG. 17 (at the time of heavy landing).

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 17;

21 is a sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG. 17 (at the time of heavy landing).

FIG. 22 is an enlarged front view of the driving device.

FIG. 23 is an enlarged plan view of a driving device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gas bag 2 Gas bag lower part 3 Jacket 9 String material 20 Bellows A Frame part of airship S11-S13 Vertical beam L1-L3 Vertical beam D Diagonal stay K Air chamber

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (72) Inventors Florian, Windischbauer Lindau, Germany, Bauerlinsharde, 1

Claims (10)

(57) [Claims] A frame for a group of structures required for a gas bag and an airship that generates lift comprises a row of horizontal frames and vertical beams fitted between these horizontal frames, and the frames are arranged in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction. An airship in which each horizontal frame to be divided is formed of three horizontal beams arranged in the form of an equilateral triangle, and the vertices of the triangle are formed as nodes for connecting the vertical beams to the horizontal beams. Triangular structures (S11, S12, S1
The base (S13) of 3) is placed horizontally on the lower part of the skeleton, and a part (A) of the skeleton divided by the horizontal frame
A square surface bounded by two horizontal beams (S13, S23) and two vertical beams (L1, L3) at the end of the two has two tension links (D) extending diagonally, In each part (A) of the skeleton, a gas bag (1) whose upper part is in contact with the longitudinal beams (L1, L2, L3) from the inside and is fixed thereto is arranged. ) Are filled with gas, the horizontal beams (S11, S12, S13) and the vertical beams (L1,
L2, L3), the envelope of which simultaneously forms the envelope of the airship over the longitudinal length of said frame portion (A), wherein the lower portion (2) of the gas bag (1) is lower And loosely touches a rectangular surface tension link (D) formed between the two base longitudinal beams (L1, L3), and a partition (2) for an air chamber (K) provided in a lower portion of the airship. Formed between the two base longitudinal beams (L1, L3), another jacket (3) for closing the lower side of the air chamber (K) to replenish the cross-sectional shape of the airship, An airship that features. 2. The airship according to claim 1, wherein the transverse beam (S13) and the longitudinal beam (L1) are formed as trusses. 3. A longitudinal beam (L) formed as a truss, wherein an upper chord (9) located on an outer contour side of the airship is provided when a lower chord located on the gas bag side extends straight. 3. The airship according to claim 2, wherein the airship has a curved shape adapted to the outer contour of the airship. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein a drive (T) is arranged at a node of the frame base.
An airship according to any one of the preceding claims. 5. The airship according to claim 1, wherein the drive (T) is arranged behind the stern of the airship.
An airship according to any one of the preceding claims. 6. A diagonal tension link (D) disposed within a frame portion (A) divided by said transverse frame.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gasket penetrates the wall of the gas bag disposed in the frame part in a gas-tight manner and the tension element is arranged in an air chamber at a node of the frame. airship. 7. A common air chamber (K) is provided for a plurality of gas bags (1) arranged in the frame part (A). Airship. 8. A cross beam (S21, S21) of adjacent horizontal frames adjacent to each other.
8. An air chamber (K), wherein the intermediate chamber (Z) between the gas bags (1) separated from each other by S22, S23) is connected to the air chamber (K). An airship as described in. 9. An airship in which gas bags (1) separated from each other by cross beams (for example, S21, S22, S23) of a horizontal frame of two adjacent frame parts (A) seal the intermediate chamber (Z). 9. Airship according to claim 1, wherein the airships are connected to one another by one or more annular covering strips (4 ') which refill the outer coverings. 10. The nacelle (G) is suspended (15, 16) from a base portion of the skeleton, and can be elastically inserted into the air chamber (K). An airship as described in.